Rickets Rickets is a disorder that affects children, causing poor development of the bones in the skeleton. The term rickets is believed to have come from an old English word 'wrickken' meaning to twist or bend and was a very common condition in Victorian times. Today, it is very rare. In adults, the same condition is known as osteomalacia (soft bones) and is much more common. Bones are made up of four major parts: matrix (collagen fibres that criss-cross), mineral (calcium and phosphorous), osteoclasts (bone-removing cells), and osteoblasts (bone-producing cells). These contribute to how soft or hard the bones are. The strength of new bone depends on the amount of mineral covering the matrix.The more mineral there is, the stronger the bone and vice-versa. Bone is a living tissue and microscopic areas of bone are naturally removed and replaced throughout your life. The body needs enough calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D for bone mineralisation to take place. Vitamin D helps calcium get absorbed from the intestine and pushes the calcium into the bone. It also helps muscles work properly. In rickets, the condition is characterised by deformed bones due to poor bone mineralisation. In many cases, rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency. There is a form of genetic rickets called X-Linked Hypophosphatemia. This condition is characterised by the symptoms of rickets and by low phosphorus in the blood, associated with high phosphate levels passed in the urine. It affects approximately 1 in 20,000 people and affects girls more than boys. Rickets also occasionally develops in children with rare forms of kidney and liver disease.  It can also occur as a complication of a digestive disorder that causes malabsorption (nutrients not being absorbed properly) of calcium or phosphorus. Glossary Kidney Kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs located at the back of the abdomen, which remove waste and extra fluid from the blood and pass them out of the body as urine. Deformed Deformity is used to describe a part of the body that is not the usual shape. This could develop during pregnancy or as a result of a condition or inj Liver The liver is the largest organ in the body. Its main jobs are to secrete bile (to help digestion), detoxify the blood and change food into energy. Blood Blood supplies oxygen to the body and removes carbon dioxide. It is pumped around the body by the heart. Tissue Body tissue is made up of groups of cells that perform a specific job, such as protecting the body against infection, producing movement or storing fat.   Deficiency If you have a deficiency it means you are lacking in a particular substance needed by the body. Genetic Genetic is a term that refers to genes- the characteristics inherited from a family member.